Texts and Contexts Critical Companion to World Literatures in English April 28 2014

Eminent African critic and novelist Ngugi Wa Thiong'o has noted that "literature is given impetus, shape, direction and even area of concern by social, political and economic forces in a particular society", while Doreathea Drummond Mbalia has concurred by noting that "from a materialist perspective, literature is a product of the society in which it is produced, arising from and dependent on the material conditions of the society". This explains why works of fiction usually serve as windows into the societies from which they emanate. New Historicists and cultural materialists have emphasized over and over again the interplay between literature and the society. This has often resulted in an over-simplification of the relationship between texts and their contexts, limiting criticisms to the material evidence of the society; whereas this relationship can sometimes be read in the current ideas of the time. This companion is interested in essays which underline the ways literary texts are influenced or influence the philosophical and ideological currents of the time of their production. Contributions are therefore welcomed from critics specialized in literatures in English from different epochs, cultures and locations which focus on the kind of dialogue that exists between texts and the philosophical and ideological contexts. The following areas are indicative but contributors are free to twist them to suit their topic: - Literature and Renaissance thought - Literature and the Environmental Imagination - Existentialist thinking in Literature - Postcolonialism and/in literature - Feminist tendencies in literature - Literature and Politics - Literature and -isms - Literature and theology etc Papers expected for this collection should be of a very high quality and engage highly critical perspectives. Interested contributors should send an abstract of at between 350 – 500 words to the following address textsandcontexts2014@gmail.com Important Dates April 28 2014 – Deadline for acceptance of abstracts May 20 2014 - Notification of acceptance of abstracts August 15 2014 – Deadline for acceptance of complete papers December 2014 – Publication of Essay Collection